


Lonely Like Me

by Awkward1



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Clarke Griffin & Raven Reyes are Best Friends, Clarke has a lot of self worth issues, Clarke has kids but this isn't kid centered, Clarke is starting over, Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Ensemble Cast, F/M, Finn is a cheating douchebag, I'm ignoring season 5 Octavia, More tags to be added, Raven is the best, Teacher Bellamy, There is a lot going on here, a little sad in the beginning, bellarke AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-19
Updated: 2018-08-22
Packaged: 2019-06-29 12:41:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15729621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Awkward1/pseuds/Awkward1
Summary: When Clarke left Arcadia with Finn years ago, she lost touch with almost everyone.  Now years later, she returns with two children and a lot of emotional baggage.  After years in an unhealthy marriage, her self worth is wrecked. Raven is there to help her begin pick up the pieces.  When Raven nudges Clarke towards Bellamy as the perfect no strings attached fling, maybe Bellamy has other plans?





	1. The End

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys....
> 
> ...so here is this thing I wrote. Weekly updates. Comments make me happy.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He looked at her with wounded brown eyes. “Clarke, I didn’t mean for you to find out like this.”
> 
> “You didn’t mean for me to find out like this? You mean you didn’t mean for your girlfriend to send me receipts of your entire history together complete with illustrations?” She responded cooly. She sounded controlled and cold. Every bit of Abigail Griffin’s daughter.
> 
> Finn’s brows drew down and a flash or irritation flickered in his eyes, “You know I didn’t mean for any of this to hurt you. I would never hurt you. You are the most important person in my life.”
> 
> Clarke laughed humorlessly once before covering her hands with her face. She took a fortifying breath before looking at him again. “How long has this been going on?”
> 
> She could tell he was trying to calculate in his head how much she already knew. He must have decided the odds weren’t in his favor because he answered, “Last June.”
> 
> “So a year.” She replied, matter of factly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My goal is to put out weekly updates. So...yeah. Here's a thing I wrote.

If the affair hadn’t been so cliche, maybe she would have been less humiliated. But, it was cliche. And pathetic. It left Clarke feeling like everything that she had promised herself she wouldn’t become.

School had just ended for the summer, and he was still at work. He was always “still at work” lately. Or at the gym. Somehow, his ventures into a healthy lifestyle were racking up three hour daily trips to the gym. She was making dinner for the kids. Ben, nine years old and his father in miniature with his dark mop of hair and expressive brown eyes, was already sitting at the kitchen counter waiting for dinner to be ready, while Jane, eleven years old and unmistakably Clarke’s daughter with her wavy blonde hair and clear blue eyes was still in the bonus room off of the kitchen, curled up on the couch with a book and earbuds in her ears. Jane loved Taylor Swift and was probably listening to Wonderland on a loop while she devoured The Hunger Games.

“Jane,” Clarke called, “dinner’s ready.”

Jane held up a finger and nodded in acknowledgement although she continued to read. Clarke was the same way. Once she was reading, she couldn’t stand to stop until she reached the perfect point. Clarke slid two plates into place on the counter in front of the barstools, each loaded with a slice of homemade pizza and salad as her phone buzzed. And buzzed. And buzzed again.

“Thanks, mama.” Ben said, before he started to stuff his face. Clarke gave him a smile and a wink before she grabbed her phone from the counter and checked the screen.

Megan, Jane’s best friend Chloe’s mother, had sent her a text.

**Megan: Hey, Bethany Anderson sent me a text and told me to have you check your messenger. She told me she was trying to reach you but you guys weren’t friends on Facebook.**

**Clarke: Ok, who is Bethany Anderson? Do you know what she wants?**

**Megan: She was a few years behind me in high school. I just know her in passing. Maybe it is about the festival? You are taking vendor reservations, right?**

**Clarke: Makes sense. Are the girls still sleeping over at your place tomorrow night?**

The conversation devolved into mundane details about drop off and pick up times and what Jane needed to pack for the next night. By the time the text exchange wrapped up, Jane was at the counter bickering with her brother about Minecraft strategy.

Clarke would normally sit at the counter with the kids while they ate while she attempted to wait until Finn got home before she ate hers. The past few weeks, he had been coming home later and later until Clarke would eat a bowl of cereal in front of the tv and watched Netflix until he got home. By then, it was so late, Clarke was half asleep on the couch. By the time he took a quick shower to wash the gym off, she was fully out. He would wake her with a gentle shake to the shoulder and she would sleepily walk to the bedroom and curl up under the covers with barely a word exchanged between them.

Twice a week he would slip into bed behind her and wake her with gentle touches and apologies for the crazy hours or a guilt trip about how she never had time for him anymore, depending on his mood and her receptiveness. Maybe the sex wasn’t the greatest, she thought, but after eleven years of marriage they each knew what the other liked, a mediocre orgasm was better than no orgasm. Most of the time.

Tonight however, while the kids were eating and talking quietly, Clarke opened the messenger app on her phone and accepted Bethany Anderson’s message.

The words next to the pretty face of a brunette smiling from the circular profile picture caused the blood to drain from her face. All sounds ceased to exist as if she was in a vacuum. Clarke stared at the words. Reading them and rereading them.

Her eyes darted up to the kids and back down to the screen, “Jane,” she said, “I need to step outside for a minute and make a call. Eat up ok?”

She smiled a brittle smile she knew wasn’t reached her eyes and stepped out of the kitchen, down the hall, and through the French doors in the living room. As she stepped out onto the deck that houses the barbecue and patio set and presided over the back yard, she shakily sat on the top of the set of stairs that led into the yard.

**Bethany Anderson: I just wanted to let you know that your husband and I have been sleeping together for almost a year.**

Clarke reread the words again. Before typing out the return message with shaky fingers.

**Clarke Griffin-Collins: I think you might have the wrong person.**

Clarke knew she didn’t have the wrong person.

**Bethany Anderson sent an image.**

Then the phone buzzed repeatedly as image after image came through the messenger app.

Clarke watched the lock screen of her phone as notification after notification came through. Finally, after taking a steadying breath, she swiped across the screen and opened the notifications.

Image after image of screenshots of messages between the too, and images Finn had taken of himself in the bathroom mirror at their house, while he was naked and obviously straight from the shower, his erect penis pushed with one hand against his thigh while he flexed and posed. Clarke felt bile rise up in her throat.

**Clarke Griffin-Collins: Thank you for letting me know.**

Clarke quickly scrolled back up to the top of the conversation and screenshot the conversation and images, uploading them to her Dropbox account. Then, which tears in her eyes, she sent a text. This one to Finn.

**There will be a suitcase at the end of the driveway. Don’t try to come home.**

Then, she called Raven.

~

“Clarke, listen. Tomorrow morning you need to get some things together and put them in a safe place. You need to get copies of your tax records, the kids birth certificates, your investments, mortgage, 401k, all of the important stuff and put it somewhere safe. You also need to go to the bank and withdraw half of whatever your balances are in your joint accounts. Only half. And then, you need to call a lawyer.”

“Ok, I can do that.” She replied quietly.

Clarke had broken down when Raven initially answered the phone. Raven had quickly caught the pieces of what had happened and takes her through the packing of the suitcase. Raven thought she should have just dumped it all in a trash bag but Clarke carefully folded a few changes of clothes, put his toiletry bag together, and included his acid reflux medication before quietly hauling the simple black piece of luggage out of the house and sitting it nearly next to the mailbox at the end of the brick driveway. Then she walked back in the house, told the kids it was a junk food and movie night and got them set up in the living room. Raven was tapping away at a keyboard during everything. Clarke knew she was putting together a contingency plan. Raven’s mind was brilliant and organized and right now Clarke missed her with a deep ache in her heart.

Once the kids were settled in with Harry Potter and popcorn with M&M’s, Clarke walked into the bathroom and shut the door before sliding back down against it onto the floor.

“I don’t know what to do, Raven.”

“What do you want to do?” Raven asked calmly.

Clarke choked as tears welled up again, “I don’t know.”

Raven was quiet. On the other end of the line she was quietly thinking of way to murder Finn Collins and dispose of his body while she listened to her friend choke on her pain.

“I don’t know who I am if I’m not this person anymore. I don’t have anything here. I haven’t worked in years. I’ve just been raising the kids and taking care of the house and...oh my god, Raven I’m one of those stupid women everyone feels sorry for. I don’t know how to do this.”

“You are Clarke Griffin. You are a fucking bad-ass mama bear and you are going to figure this out. I’m on a flight out tomorrow morning. I’ll help.”

“What do I tell the kids?” Clarke asked. “Is this going to screw them up? I don’t know what to tell the kids?”

Clarke could hear the hysterical edge in her voice and she hated it. She hated everything about who she was in this moment.

“Just tell them he had to work late. They probably won’t even notice. It isn’t like he has been father of the year lately.” Raven said.

Raven and Clarke were still close, even after years of living on opposite coasts. Clarke didn’t talk to many people from Arcadia. When she left at 20, everyone from their old friend group had split up and ventured off to colleges around the country. She hadn’t really kept tabs on many of them. She hadn’t even been back since the Mr. Jaha has held a funeral for Wells. Even that trip had been cut short when Finn had called on the second day of her trip and begged her to come home because Jane was teething at the time and he couldn’t get her to sleep. But she had held on to Raven. Or, more likely, Raven had held on to her, either out of stubbornness or spite from Finn taking her best friend across the country. Flying out when each of the babies was born and staying to help out for a few weeks, sometimes meeting in the summer or while the kids were on spring break and spending a short vacation together. Finn always managed to have work obligations and never joined them. Looking back, Clarke was noticing a lot of times where Finn had been missing from the family picture.

Clarke’s phone buzzed in her hand and she looked at the screen. Finn had finally responded to her text.

“Raven, he finally got my message. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Bright and early, babe. We’ve got this.” They disconnected and Clarke checked the text.

**Finn: What? Why wouldn’t I come home?**

Clarke sent him a screenshot of one of the messages from earlier. Clarke watched the dots roll across the bottom of the screen as if he was typing out message after message and erasing them. Then the phone rang.

Finn called. And called repeatedly.

Clarke sent another message.

**Clarke: The kids are watching movies in the front room. They think you are working late.I can’t talk about this tonight. If I try to talk to you tonight I will break down and it will scare them. Go somewhere else.**

Finn called.

**Clarke: I don’t want to see you. I don’t want to talk to you.**

The phone was silent.

Clarke walked to the front room and snuggled under a blanket with Ben on one side and Jane sprawled on the other. Eventually, headlights flashed across the window and she heard a door open in the distance. She held her breath and after a moment the door shut and tires quietly rolled across the driveway before accelerating away. She gently ran her fingers through Ben's soft hair and thought about what the morning would bring.

~

Clarke woke the next morning with a crick in her neck from sleeping at an awkward angle on the couch. The watery, early morning sunlight was slipping around the edges of the curtains. At some point, the movie had ended and the tv was displaying the Firestick home screen. Both children were sprawled across the couch, one wrapped in a blanket like a burrito, the other half on, half off the couch, blankets kicked off in the night, clutching just a throw pillow.

Clarke glanced at the screen of her phone and saw a text from Raven received half an hour before.

**Raven: Plane landed. Grabbing a cab be there soon.**

Clarke squinted at the time and wondered if Raven had managed to sleep at all the night before. Just as she was rubbing sleep from her eyes and trying to gingerly extricate herself from sofa without waking the children, there was a knock at the door. Then her phone chimed again.

**Finn: I’m at the door.**

Clarke’s jaw clenched and she felt a sick ball of discomfort gather in her stomach. She walked to the front door and stared at the silhouette of her husband she could see through the cut glass design. With a sigh, she reached forward and spun the lock, opening the door a fraction and stepping out into the front steps. She wrapped her arms around herself, the early morning just slightly chilly without the sun fully up.

“I’m not ready to talk about this yet.” She said before Finn could begin to speak.

He looked at her with wounded brown eyes. “Clarke, I didn’t mean for you to find out like this.”

“You didn’t mean for me to find out like this? You mean you didn’t mean for your girlfriend to send me receipts of your entire history together complete with illustrations?” She responded cooly. She sounded controlled and cold. Every bit of Abigail Griffin’s daughter.

Finn’s brows drew down and a flash or irritation flickered in his eyes, “You know I didn’t mean for any of this to hurt you. I would never hurt you. You are the most important person in my life.”

Clarke laughed humorlessly once before covering her hands with her face. She took a fortifying breath before looking at him again. “How long has this been going on?”

She could tell he was trying to calculate in his head how much she already knew. He must have decided the odds weren’t in his favor because he answered, “Last June.”

“So a year.” She replied, matter of factly.

He nodded and took a step forward as if attempting to reach out to her. She backed up and raised her hands to shield herself.

“Don’t touch me. Don’t you ever fucking touch me again.” She hissed.

She heard a door open across the street and watched her neighbor, Mr. Thompson, walk out with his dog. Finn also noticed and tilted his head towards her, “Let me come in Clarke. We can talk about this without an audience.”

“What do you think is going to happen if we talk about this, Finn?” She waved her hand between the two of them and tried to keep her voice from becoming shrill. “Do you think that I’m going to get over this? Do you think you can apologize and I’m going to tell you we can make it work?”

Finn narrowed his eyes before speaking, “Do you think this is all my fault? What did you expect me to do. Do you know what it's like being married to you? You’re frigid. There isn’t any passion in you. You’re boring. Whenever we go out with my friends you are quiet and hang back, everyone thinks you are a stuck up bitch. I didn’t know I was going to get stuck with the second coming of Abby Griffin when I married you.”

Clarke recoiled as if he had struck her. Finn immediately looked contrite, “I didn’t mean that.”

“I think you did.” Clarke said quietly. Finn stepped back and raised a hand to run it through his hair. The crunch of wheels on gravel had them both turning as a taxi neared on the street. Clarke felt the slightest bit of relief as she saw Raven’s familiar form in the backseat.

Finn’s face immediately tensed. “Of course you called her.”

He glared at Clarke.

Clarke looked back at him. “I couldn’t do this alone.”

Finn’s jaw tensed. “You weren’t alone.”

“I’ve been alone for years.” She spat back.

He swallowed and stepped off the stoop, “So where am I supposed to go?” He asked.

Clarke shrugged. “Maybe you should call Bethany.”

Finn looked at Clarke, wounded.

Raven was pulling her suitcase out of the back of the cab while shooting Finn a death glare. Next, the rumble of Raven wheeling her suitcase up the front walk filled the air.

“Where does that leave us know?” He asked.

Clarke looked down at her feet, bare and pale against the red brick wall. Soft pink nail polish carefully filling in each nail. She looked back up at him, “I’m calling a lawyer. You should call one too.”

“So you don’t even want to try?” He said accusingly.

“I really don’t,” she said again in the harsh cold tone that reminded her of her mother.

“What are you going to do without me?” He asked. As if the idea of Clarke surviving on her own was ridiculous.

“I don’t know.” She answered truthfully, “But I’ll figure something out.”

Finn rolled his eyes and turned to walk away.

“The kids are fine by the way,” she called to him as he walked away.

He raised his hand in the air and waved her off as he walked around Raven and turned back to his car.

Raven propped her suitcase up on the step before throwing her arms around Clarke before quietly talking in her ear. “I used to date a guy. I think we could get rid of him and no one would ever find the body.”

Clarke laughed and hugged her friend back tightly before dissolving into tears.


	2. And I See the Permanent Damage You Did To Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raven looked up interested. “Speaking of Bellamy,” she began.
> 
> Clarke took a drink of water and Raven continued. “I think Clarke should bang him.”
> 
> Clarke choked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi yall...so I’m just ignoring the fact that recent canon Octavia is kind of awful so have fun with that. Also, I reference the Holy Bob Beach Picture. So...just imagine that when it comes up. I'm on Tumblr. If you ever want to flail with me I'm i-prefer-walking.

 

Chapter 2

6 months later

 

Meeting at The Grove was Raven’s idea.  She told Clarke she knew the owner, that it was near her office, and Clarke should just meet her after work.  Clarke had flown in on an afternoon flight with a long list of things to accomplish during the two days she would be in Arcadia.  Find a place to live, register the kids for school, find a career...all things she needed to accomplish before returning to the big house that had sold the week before to finish packing their lives into cardboard boxes. The divorce wouldn’t be final for months but there were already so many big changes happening in their lives.  True to her word, Clarke had visited a lawyer the day after she had found out about Finn’s infidelity. Papers were filed shortly after. When Clarke approached Finn about custody arrangements, he informed her had decided to take a short term transfer overseas and he ‘would love to have the kids visit on holidays’ but really he thought it was best if they remained with Clarke for the majority of the time.  Clarke had been stunned. He’d almost seemed relieved. 

The decision to sell the house had come quickly after.  Clarke has nothing holding her to the West Coast without Finn.  Jane wasn’t happy about the move. Jane wasn’t happy about anything at the moment and Clarke couldn’t blame her.  The poor kids had had their lives turned upside down in the space of a few weeks and Clarke knew it was only going to get worse once they moved.  So here she was, getting out of a taxi in the quickly diminishing sunlight of a November afternoon, in front of a quiet looking little restaurant with a pretty brick exterior and a small patio dining area.  She thanked the driver as she climbed out of the cab with her purse and carry on bag. Checking her phone, she realized she was quite a bit early. Raven wouldn’t be off work for another hour. 

She walked into the building and was instantly charmed by the atmosphere.  The space looked like an rehabbed factory building. This part of town was full of old industrial buildings that had been transformed into apartments, offices, shops, cafes and restaurants.  Exposed brick walls, and refinished wide plank floors filled the space. Along one wall there was a bar area, where well placed lighting lit the bottles up like jewels. There were a few small tables scattered throughout the bar area.  The main dining area had large, rough hewn, farmhouse style tables. One wall was old reclaimed barnwood that was complimented by a few large pieces of driftwood hanging along the section instead of art. Looking around, Clarke decided that someone had spent a fortune hiring a lighting engineer. The design elements were minimal and could have looked cold, but the way the lighting was staged, with warm copper accents and perfect placement, the room was warm and intimate.  The smells that mingled with the low hum of conversation and the clatter of cutlery furthered the ambiance. 

The hostess at her station near the door smiled and asked if Clarke would like a table. Clarke looked at the time on her phone again. “I’m meeting someone. I think I’ll wait at the bar.” 

Clarke walked to the bar and hopped up on a stool. She was just looking down at small leatherbound cocktail menu when she heard a raspy female voice.

“Sorry about that,” the voice said and Clarke looked up. “I was delivering some drinks for one of our waitresses.  She had to step out for an second.” 

Clarke was staring with delighted surprise at the face that was looking back at her. “Octavia?” She asked.

Octavia broke into a huge smile and quickly slid underneath the bar pass through, throwing her arms around Clarke.

“Oh my god, I’m going to kill Raven when she gets here.” Octavia laughed while squeezing Clarke tightly.  Clarke had wrapped her arms around Octavia and had squeezed back equally as hard. 

“What do you mean?” Clarke asked.

“She called me last night and asked if I was working today.  When I told her I was, she told me to keep an eye out for a surprise.  I had no idea what she was talking about.”

Octavia stepped back and took in the appearance of her old friend while reaching up to adjust the artfully messy bun she had thrown her long dark hair into before work.  She was dressed in a simple black shirt and pants that highlighted the small, lithe frame and complimented her delicate features. But Clarke knew that that appearances were decieving.  Octavia was tough and scrappy and in college, was more likely to try to finish a fight than anyone else in their small group of friends. 

While Clarke had been thinking that her friend had appeared to have hardly aged during her absence, Octavia had been noticing the changes in Clarke.  Clarke had always been a compact, curvy little package, but the maturity of motherhood had added a bit more curve to her hips and bust. But the biggest change seemed more mental. She looked drawn and tired.  Her makeup was simple and carefully applied, but Octavia could see through the cosmetics to the dark undereye circles and faint lines from worry and stress in the corners of her eyes and mouth. Clarke’s hair even seemed faded.  What she remembered as a bright blonde mess of curls was smoothed back into a ponytail that looked like it could use a good deep conditioning treatment and a trim. She was a faded watercolor of her old self. Octavia wanted to steal her away and ransack Sephora and find a stylist.  In Octavia’s opinion, nothing made you feel better than murdering your bank account.

“I’m so happy to see you again.” Octavia said with another smile before she scooted back around the bar.  “Now, what can I get you to drink?”

~

 

Clarke remembered a little too late that she hadn’t had anything to eat since breakfast early that morning and that Octavia always had mixed a strong drink.  The vodka cranberry that she had consumed in a short period of time left her feeling light and relaxed. And talkative. 

“So Finn is transferring to Austria for 18 months to roll out a project and I am moving back here,” she finished, chasing some of the ice cubes at the bottom of her glass around with the thin black straw. 

Octavia neatly swiped the empty glass from in front of Clarke and placed a new one on the coaster. 

“Are you moving back to your mom’s house?” Octavia asked.

Clarke grimaced, “Not if I can help it. She and Marcus are hardly ever there, they’re always travelling for work, but I just don’t think I can stay there. Not even short term. I’m hoping to look at a few places this weekend.  It's going to be a huge adjustment for the kids. Going from our house to an apartment but we’ll figure it out.”

Clarke took another sip of her drink, “Anyway, enough about me. What about you? How long have you been working here?” 

Octavia leaned against the bar, “I’ve been bartending here a few nights a week since Murphy opened the place. Do you remember Murphy?”

Clarke thought back, trying to place the name.  “I don’t think so?”

“He was a few years older than us.  Made everyone a little nervous, always seemed like he might steal your shit or murder you. Anyway, either he mellowed out or we all got used to him.  He graduated with a business degree and none of us even thought he was going to classes. He started this place a few years ago. He needed a bartender, Bellamy knew I needed a job, and the rest is history.”

Clarke nodded, she didn’t really know Bellamy. While Clarke and Octavia were attending college in Arcadia, there was enough of an age gap that Octavia’s older brother had already graduated and working.  Back then he had been old enough that he ran around with a different group of friends.

“So I bartend here when Gina is off. I also teach kickboxing and self defense classes at a gym a few days a week.” Octavia rearranged a stack of coasters while she was talking.

Clarke’s phone lit up with a call. A photo of Jane smiling standing next to a giant gummy bear at Dylan’s Candy Bar was visible on the screen. “Excuse me for just a second,” she said and swiped across the screen. 

Octavia moved down the bar to fill a few drinks while Clarke was busy.  When she ended the call, and Octavia had another lull, she moved back towards her. 

“Everything ok?” she asked.

Clarke nodded, “Yeah, she just wanted to check in.  I swear, those poor kids are more worried about me than anything.  It makes me feel bad.”

“I think that means you have good kids, Clarke.” Octavia smiled kindly.  “Let me see some pictures.”

Clarke opened her phone’s photo album and swiped through a few photos.  She slid the phone over to Octavia. Octavia studied the picture and smiled slightly, “He might have been a huge douchebag, but you guys made some cute kids.”

Clarke looked back at the picture with a fond, sad look on her face. “They are pretty great. How about you?” She asked. “I think I saw a picture of you on Facebook with someone recently.”

Octavia smirked. “He’s hot, right?” She laughed.  “He’s also great with kids and he can cook. I’m keeping him.”

Clarke leaned her elbow on the bar and rested her chin in the palm of her hand. “How did you meet him?”

“He’s an art teacher at the same school Bellamy teaches at. I was helping Bell with the sets for the Christmas program and Lincoln was painting them and we got to talking.  It was really easy and amazing and I just knew right away.” Octavia rolled her eyes at herself. “I know that sounds ridiculous.”

One side of Clarke’s mouth quirked into a smile, “It sounds nice.”

“Ugh, you assholes started the party without me,” Raven said from behind Clarke. 

Clarke turned and stood to hug her friend.

“I got here early and ran into Octavia.  You should have told me she was working here.”

Raven slid onto the stool next to Clarke, rubbing the brace on her thigh as she say down. “Well, I wasn’t sure she would be here tonight.”

Octavia popped the top off of a bottle of beer and slid it over to Raven, asking “How is the exciting world of aerospace engineering?” 

“Oh you know, same ol same ol.” She smirked.

“We were just talking about Lincoln,” Octavia said.  “Do you have any news you would like to share?” 

Raven narrowed her eyes and took a sip of her beer, “Shut up.”

Clarke looked between the two, “What am I missing?”  
Octavia laughed, “Ask her about Zeke.”

“I’m gonna kill you, Blake.” Raven responded.

Octavia held up a finger as a tall woman with short wavy hair walked behind the bar, “Hold on, Gina is taking over and then we can get a table.” She motioned to Clarke, “Gina, this is my friend Clarke.  Clark, this is Gina.”

The women all exchange greetings before Octavia stows her apron behind the bar and the three friends find a table in the dining area.

“So, Operation Get Clarke’s Life In Order is set to commence at O’ eight hundred tomorrow morning.” Raven said as they sat at a table. 

Octavia rolled her eyes, “Do you guys want to share the bruschetta appetizer? I’m starving.”

“Really the big thing I need to do is find an apartment.” Clarke said. “And yes, that sounds amazing. Order that.”

“Where are you looking at apartments?” Octavia asked.

Clarke pulled out her phone and opened the notes she had taken, she slid the phone towards Octavia.  Octavia looked over the list and wrinkled her nose at one of the listings, “Yeah, don’t look at that last one.  I know that building. A friend lived there a few years ago, you don’t want to live there.”

The waiter stopped by the table and they ordered way more food than they probably needed. 

“You know,” Octavia said, “My brother lives near here, and I think there is a unit in his building.  Let me ask.” She quickly tapped out a message on her phone.

Raven looked up interested. “Speaking of Bellamy,” she began.

Clarke took a drink of water and Raven continued. “I think Clarke should bang him.”

Clarke choked. 

“Raven, what the fuck?” Octavia said, too loudly in the relaxed atmosphere of the restaurant.  Other diners turned their heads in their direction.

Clarke caught her breath and dabbed at the water she had coughed on the tabletop with a napkin. “Why...why, why is this a thing you are thinking about?” She asked.

Raven shrugged, ticking items off on her fingers as she smirked, “Well, I can tell you from experience that he is an amazing lay.  Gina can also vouch for him. Miller too, now that I’m thinking about it. And, he never actually seriously dates anyone so he would be perfect for your getting back in the saddle experience.”

Octavia grimaced, diverting her attention to scrolling through her phone.  “I object to everything about this conversation right now.”

“Oh my god,” Clarke laughed. “I don’t even know anyone you are talking about.  And I definitely don’t need to add another complication to my life right now.”

“First of all, Gina is right over there,” Raven pointed to the bar.  “You’ll meet Miller soon enough. We are totally adopting you into our friend group.  He and his boyfriend, Jackson, host game nights some nights. Jackson is a Doctor, Miller is a cop. And anyway, you know Bellamy.”

Clarke shook her head.  “I don’t remember actually meeting Bellamy.  I’ve only seen pictures on Octavia’s Instagram.”

Raven rolled her eyes, “It doesn’t matter.  He’s hot like burning.” She looked through her phone before saying, ‘Aha!’, and showing Clarke a picture. A picture of a gorgeous man walking out of the ocean, dark hair tousled, and muscles everywhere. 

Clarke feels a blush rise in her cheeks before she takes a sip of water, “Why are his swimming trunks so small?” 

“They were Monty’s.” Octavia interjected at the same time Raven said, “Because there is a god and She loves us.” 

“Wait, Monty?” Clarke asked. “From high school?”

Octavia nodded, “Yep.  He and Jasper both live back here.  They went to MIT, and came back here.  Monty married this girl named Harper, they have a son named Jordan. Jasper is dating an art historian named Mya.”

“More people you will meet at game night.” Raven added.

The waiter brought a tray with a large platter covered in pieces of bruschetta and three small plates.  As he placed the items down on the table, Octavia’s phone dinged with a text alert.

“Bellamy said the upstairs neighbor just moved out and…” She stretched the word out as they text back and forth. “He also said it might be a little pricey because its a bigger unit.”

Clarke and Raven exchanged a look.  Clarke shrugged, “See if you can get a number and I’ll call about it in the morning.”

Octavia hummed as she tapped out the response.  “Done. I’m going to send it to you.”

“Okay,” Clarke stood up.  “I’m going to find the ladies room.  I’ll be back.”

Once she was safely out of earshot, Octavia and Raven exchanged a look.

Octavia tapped her nails on the tabletop.  “So before you got here, we were talking. She said something about how he started taking a lot of business trips after the first baby.”

Raven nodded, “Yep.”

“He was cheating the whole time?” Octavia asked.

“I think so.” Raven answered.

Octavia said, “I want to rip his balls off.” 

“Get in line,” Raben said.

Octavia glanced back towards the restroom. “Is she holding it together as well as she seems?”

Raven sighed and rubbed her forehead, “She’s stressed out.  I don’t know what her financial situation is. I know she had a trust fund once upon a time, but there was some drama with that about the time they got married. The kids are doing okay but I think there will be fallout once they actually move.  I don’t think Clarke’s sleeping. She just seems to get more brittle every time I talk to her. I’m worried about her.” Raven shrugged helplessly. “I’ll be glad when she is back here.”

Octavia nodded her head in agreement. “We’ve got this.”

Clarke slid back into her seat, “Got what?” She asks.

Raven gestures between herself and Octavia.  “The check. We’re buying.”


End file.
